It has never been easier to manufacture the appearance of trust. AI-generated people, artificial images, synthetic testimonials, and vague claims can make a product look more credible than it is. That harms consumers, and it harms the honest brands that invest in doing the real thing.
We publish independent, evidence-led research, and practical guidance for consumers and brands. Our goal is not to make people distrust everything. It is to help everyone know what deserves trust.
The author
Emir Ramic is the founder and CEO of VeryHum, a platform where brands connect with real, verified people to gather honest feedback and authentic social content, the kind of genuine social proof that reflects a product’s real benefits. An award-winning packaging and branding designer and consultant with more than 20 years of experience, he majored in Consumer Behaviour in Marketing and studied at the University of Tuzla. Based near Trier, Germany, he founded Trustwashing.com and authored the 2026 Trustwashing Reports out of a simple conviction: that trust should be earned through evidence, transparency, and real human experience, not manufactured.
The solution partner: VeryHum
VeryHum, the sister initiative behind Trustwashing.com, is built on the idea in its name: verified human, and very human. It connects brands with real, verified people who provide honest feedback and authentic social content, so a brand’s social proof comes from genuine human experience rather than manufactured signals. It is the practical answer to the problem this initiative studies.
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Working on this problem, researching it, or want a deeper review of your own claims? We would like to hear from you.